ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The No. 23-ranked University of Michigan women’s basketball team raced out to a 10-0 lead and allowed only two points in the first quarter en route to a 77-45 win over Fort Wayne on Saturday (Dec. 16) inside Crisler Center.
Senior Katelynn Flaherty led the way for the Maize and Blue, turning in 21 points, three rebounds and two assists. Junior Hallie Thome had 18 points and eight rebounds, with senior Jillian Dunston going for eight boards and two rebounds. Junior Nicole Munger had 13 points and freshman Deja Church chipped in 11 off the bench on 5-for-8 shooting. Michigan outrebounded the Mastodons, 35-24, paced by Dunston’s 12 and eight from Thome.
Michigan shot better than 50 percent for the fourth time this season, hitting 52.4 percent from the floor (33-for-63) while holding Fort Wayne to 34 percent shooting (16-for-47).
Michigan jumped out to a 10-0 lead, getting three-pointers from Munger and Flaherty, with Thome and Dunston scoring layups in the first 2:45 of the game. Michigan allowed just two points in the first quarter, holding Fort Wayne to 7.7 percent shooting (1-for-13) in the period for a 21-2 lead after one.
The Wolverines held Fort Wayne scoreless for nearly three minutes in the second period, taking a 35-5 lead off a layup from Dunston with 5:02 on the clock. Fort Wayne scored 14 points over the final 4:40 of the period to give Michigan a 41-19 halftime advantage.
Michigan never let up in the second half, leading by as many as 33 points in the final 20 minutes as all 11 Wolverines saw the floor for the second straight game.
The Maize and Blue complete the non-conference portion of the schedule on Thursday (Dec. 21), hosting Delaware State at 3:30 p.m.